In the market to buy or sell a home? Browsing for real estate has never been easier. How tough is it to log in, kick back, and comb those online real estate listings? There’s no comparison with the bad old days, when you had to venture into a real estate agent’s office and wrestle away their sacred listing book. Want to know the price of your neighbor’s newly listed house? It’s a snap, these days …

There’s no need to be forward and come out and actually ask your neighbor the listing price. Emily Post would be offended. Forget about calling the real estate agent to inquire about the price.

And you don’t have to buy a copy of the local newspaper to comb the real estate ads.

All you need to do is hop onto a good real estate listing site like realtor.com and comb through the listings in your town. Just don’t expect those new listings to appear instantaneously. (You’ll probably want to give the agent a few days to get the information into the system after the sign goes up on the front lawn.)

Browsing the online real estate listings is a fabulous diversion on a cold winter’s day.

If the local listings don’t strike your fancy, you can always check out some place warm, perhaps Taos, Tuscon, Las Vegas, or maybe even one of the Hawaiian isles.

[Related: First-Time Home Buyer]